By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Name examples of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms
Compare and contrast prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
Describe the relative sizes of different cells
Explain why cells must be small

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the role of cells in organisms
Compare and contrast light microscopy and electron microscopy
Summarize cell theory

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the cytoskeleton
Compare the roles of microfilaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules
Compare and contrast cilia and flagella
Summarize the differences among the components of prokaryotic cells, animal cells, and plant cells

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

List the components of the endomembrane system
Recognize the relationship between the endomembrane system and its functions

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Discuss the ways in which carbohydrate metabolic pathways, glycolysis, and the citric acid cycle interrelate with protein and lipid metabolic pathways
Explain why metabolic pathways are not considered closed systems

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Discuss the importance of electrons in the transfer of energy in living systems
Explain how ATP is used by cells as an energy source

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the overall result in terms of molecules produced during the chemical breakdown of glucose by glycolysis
Compare the output of glycolysis in terms of ATP molecules and NADH molecules produced

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Discuss the fundamental difference between anaerobic cellular respiration and fermentation
Describe the type of fermentation that readily occurs in animal cells and the conditions that initiate that fermentation

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Explain how a circular pathway, such as the citric acid cycle, fundamentally differs from a linear biochemical pathway, such as glycolysis
Describe how pyruvate, the product of glycolysis, is prepared for entry into the citric acid cycle

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe how electrons move through the electron transport chain and explain what happens to their energy levels during this process
Explain how a proton (H+) gradient is established and maintained by the electron transport chain

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe how feedback inhibition would affect the production of an intermediate or product in a pathway
Identify the mechanism that controls the rate of the transport of electrons through the electron transport chain

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Explain ATP's role as the cellular energy currency
Describe how energy releases through ATP hydrolysis

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Explain metabolic pathways and describe the two major types
Discuss how chemical reactions play a role in energy transfer

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the role of enzymes in metabolic pathways
Explain how enzymes function as molecular catalysts
Discuss enzyme regulation by various factors

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Define “energy”
Explain the difference between kinetic and potential energy
Discuss the concepts of free energy and activation energy
Describe endergonic and exergonic reactions

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Discuss the concept of entropy
Explain the first and second laws of thermodynamics